12/9/15
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Thursday, December 10, 2015
1.  Assignments are to be done on a separate sheet
of paper.
2.  Assignment is due at the end of the period.
3.  Read the slides on pages 2 - 4 BEFORE reading
Chapter 2.
4.  Answer the questions in complete sentences.
5.  Provide page numbers for your answers.
Into the Wild
by Jon Krakauer
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Jack London (1876-1916)
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Born in San Francisco to a
poor family
As a child he was an avid
reader, especially stories of
real-life adventure
As a teen he joined the
oyster pirates and was a
sailor
Attended HS for one year,
passed the entrance exams
for UC Berkeley, but quit
halfway through freshman
year (did some writing)
Jack London continued
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1897-took off to prospect for gold in the Klondike (part of Yukon
Territory in NW Canada), got sick, and returned in less than a
year
Klondike experience convinced him that life is a struggle in
which the strong survive and the weak do not
Short stories and novels dramatize his belief that civilized
beings are either destroyed or re-created in savage
environments
–  Call of the Wild & White Fang
Millionaire, but an alcoholic, London suffered from kidney
disease and depression
–  Pain was unendurable, so he committed suicide (drugs) and
died at age 40
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White Fang
•  The remarkable story of a
fiercely independent creature
of the wild.
•  In the desolate, frozen wilds of
north-west Canada, a wolf-cub
soon finds himself the sole
survivor of his litter. Son of
Kiche-half-wolf, half-dog- and
the aging wolf One Eye, he is
thrust into a savage world
where each day becomes a
fight to stay alive.
The Call of the Wild
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When gold was discovered in the Yukon in
1896, Jack London caught the fever and
rushed off to the northlands to try his luck.
When he returned home, he had not mined
an ounce of gold but brought back a greater
treasure—vivid recollections of rugged life
in the frozen wastelands. London converted
his experiences into exciting adventure
tales, including The Call of the Wild, which
has been called his masterpiece.
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The Call of the Wild continued
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It tells the story of the
magnificent dog Buck, who is a
loyal pet until cruel men make
him a pawn in their search for
the gold of the Klondike.
Brutally treated, Buck finds the
blood of his world ancestors
rising within him and breaks
free to roam the Alaskan
wilderness as leader of a
ferocious pack.
Chapter 2: The Stampede Trail
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Why do you think Krakauer begins with a passage from
Jack London s White Fang? Explain.
In 1961, what did Yutan Construction purchase in order to
house the construction workers who were upgrading the
Stampede Trail? What did they leave behind?
How many people arrived at the bus on September 6,
1992? Give their names and the order in which they
arrived on the scene.
What did these people discover?
What details does Krakauer give when describing the
remains of Chris McCandless?
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Homework
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